In photos, as in life, sometimes being out of focus is o.k.

COMMUNITY

An artists guild in Menlo Park, CA where Ansel Adams once maintained a studio. Since 1929, Allied Arts Guild has provided an inspiring environment for working artists, beautiful gardens and shops for visitors, and support for critically-ill children at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Prints of my photos were sold exclusively at the Guild in the Artisan Shop and the Barn Woodshop in 2010.

A Canadian photographer whose large-scale images of manufactured landscapes help open our eyes to how industrialization and globalization have impacted our planet. In February 2010, we chatted before he gave a lecture at USC in LA. He is lovely to talk with, and I am a huge fan.

Habitat for Humanity International seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness. Habitat offers interest-free loans to low-income families who then build their own homes with the assistance of volunteers. It’s a great opportunity for volunteers who are interested in learning new skills that they can apply to renovate or maintain their own homes. In 2009, I helped the Silicon Valley chapter build six homes in Santa Clara, CA and have also volunteered with chapters in Canada. I now volunteer occasionally with Habitat in LA.

Mike and Ellen Wallau are the proprietors of Mike’s Cafes in Palo Alto, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. My Australian friend Penny arranged for me to display my work at Mike’s Cafe in Palo Alto during the summer of 2011.